Poker K'
by Nanomemes
Summary: Rock visits the family. [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1

_David Tai is on a friggin roll. Bringing a 2-part fic to the wonderful people at ,_

_Greetings from Discord._

* * *

Rock Howard regarded his cards with a frown, one that he quickly removed from his face. Damn it. He needed -more- work on his poker face. No pairs, Ace high, and he had to make a bid.

Eyeing K to his left, Rock studied the reflection of his silhouette in the shiny sunglasses. He was convinced that K was deliberately wearing his sunglasses indoors to prevent people from reading him, but K was losing large sums of chips.

Maxima, on the other hand... Maxima had the largest pile. Which probably made sense - the guy was a hacker and could probably calculate large numbers in his head, regardless of his large frame.

Kula had a small amount, but she didn't seem terribly upset. If anything, she seemed entirely content with playing the game itself, and approached everything with the same demeanor.

Seirah was sitting out this hand, mostly because she was in the kitchen tending to a batch of cookies. Rock had never really thought about Seirah as a domestic type, and she'd shown no signs of this at other times, but around K... well, the doting older sister type seemed to be in full effect.

K had sheepishly explained this as overcompensation when Rock and Seirah had shown up at their apartment and Seirah displayed more affection in one powerfully rushing hug of her 'brother' than in all the times Rock had ever met Whip.

"Don't eat the cookies, Howard," K remarked as he put in the chips.

What was he, a mindreader?

"No."

Now Rock stared at K.

"You were looking at the kitchen, and then stared at me after I warned you."

Oh. What was he, a Sherlock Holmes?

"Nope, I just read your face. And no, I don't know how I'm losing this much either." Now K glared at Maxima. "Are you -sure- you're not counting cards?"

"Absolutely, scout's honor."

"Ok, I'm in!" Kula cheered, picking up a few chips and placing it down.

"Call." K.

"Raise 10." Maxima.

"I fold," Rock remarked as he put down his cards, and leaned back, looking around.

It wasn't the -most- comfortable apartment, but there were little touches around the place that made it feel homey... mostly, Rock suspected, Kula's doing.

Getting up, Rock stretched, wandering over to the vicinity of the kitchen before hearing a little humming of what sounded like BABYMETAL.

Wait, what...?

Peeking in the kitchen, Rock watched Seirah throw a whole orange into a bowl ... of frosting? It looked more like sauce... while humming a little merry song of death and bloodshed.

Yeah. No cookies for him, thanks.

"Rock! Come in and taste this."

DOOM.

* * *

_dinner of doom._

_Stay tuned_


	2. Chapter 2

_Babymetal bitches. _

* * *

Managing to escape in a Pyrrhic victory ("Don't want to spoil my appetite for dinner."' "Good, because I'm cooking dinner. What do you think will be better, roast duck or duck a l'orange?" "Just roasted duck is good, thanks!"), Rock walked over to watch the rest of the round. As he glanced up at K, Rock happened to notice the cards reflected in his glasses.

So that's how Maxima was doing it. Which would explain why Maxima took -that- seat immediately after K sat down.

"Hey, K," Rock remarked as he took a seat. "Why're you wearing sunglasses indoors?"

"Because they look cool," K responded as he pushed a stack of chips forward.

"You know Max can see your cards when you look down at them, though, right?"

"..." K slowly lowered his sunglasses to look at Maxima, who only shrugged laconically. "I told you I wasn't counting cards," the larger man responded.

"... How about we start all over, and I won't break your face?"

"Deal," Maxima said pragmatically.

"We're starting all over?" Kula asked. K nodded, and Kula clappped her hands. "All right!" She got busy re-arranging the chips.

"You're not mad?" Rock asked Maxima. Maxima flashed a grin and slapped his shoulder. Just soft enough to be friendly, hard enough to be a punishment. Rock winced.

"Eh, he was going to figure it out sooner or later. Good observation skills, by the way. That'll help you out when you're in a tournament."

"Thanks, I think."

* * *

"How about we play strip poker?" Maxima asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"That's my sister and Kula you're talking about there. Repent."

"Point."

* * *

"Here, Rock," K handed him a couple of white pills as he headed to the dining room.

"What're those?"

"Tums."

Rock stuffed them in his mouth and began chewing."

* * *

Rock stared up at the ceiling from the sofa.

"Need more tums?" K asked from the recliner where he was slumped.

"Yep."

A bottle came flying his way, landing with a thuck off his forehead and onto his chest. Managing to pop the bottle open, Rock opened his mouth and poured some Tums into his mouth, before starting to chew.

"You picked out the seeds before eating?" Maxima winced.

"I did. I didn't manage to pick out all the burnt bits, though." K responded.

"Who's ready for dessert?"

"No mooooore..." Rock groaned, moments before Seirah popped a cookie onto his mouth.

It tasted of death and decay.

* * *

"Nice having you here, man."

"Thanks. Be good to my sister, will ya? Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"..."

"Yes, I know what you're thinking, which is why I said it." Punching Rock on the shoulder just a bit harder than necessary, K closed the door behind him.

"Isn't he awesome?" Seirah asked, as they started back.

"Uh huh."

* * *

"Winners: The Ikari Team."

"... Whip didn't do that on purpose, did she?" Rock groaned, as he watched from the sidelines.

"No she didn't, And that's what's scary, Howard," K grimaced, holding his stomach.

* * *

_Lovely stuff. As usual, please forward all compliments to David Tai_


End file.
